Hotstar, India’s leading premium streaming platform, announced the appointment of Sameer Kapoor as Vice President – Agency Ad Sales. In his new role, Sameer will be responsible for driving the relationship with media agencies to deliver measurable and impactful media strategy for clients through Hotstar.

Sameer brings over 17 years of media and marketing experience to the table, having managed offline and online platforms in leadership roles across diverse industries and geographies. Sameer joins Hotstar from Google, where he was Head of Brand Measurement for the India & Southeast Asia markets. Prior to that, he sharpened his media management experience with Starcom as Vice President, overseeing the Samsung account, and Madison World as General Manager, handling Bharti Airtel.

Commenting on his appointment, Sameer Kapoor said, “I’m thrilled to have joined the incredible team at Hotstar. As India’s leading OTT platform, Hotstar offers tremendous value to users and marketers alike. In my role, I look forward to building stronger partnerships with agencies, enabling them to offer the most effective media solutions for modern multiscreen consumers.”

Gulshan Verma, SVP and Head – Client & Agency, Hotstar added, ‘Sameer is joining us at a time when Hotstar has firmly established its might in digital video, through its massive content catalog and extensive set of advertiser tools to deliver highly targeted solutions for clients. It’s an exciting part of our journey and we’re excited to have Sameer drive the agency agenda for Hotstar.’

Sameer will be operating from Mumbai for his role at Hotstar.

About Hotstar

Hotstar is India’s largest premium streaming platform with more than 100,000 hours of drama and movies in 18 languages, and coverage of every major global sporting event. Launched in early 2015, it is one of India’s most downloaded apps and has attracted more than 350 million followers on the back of a highly evolved video streaming technology and high attention to the quality of experience across devices and platforms. Hotstar has appropriated top spots on the Google Play Store as well as the Apple App Store, consistently named among the most popular apps on both platforms since its launch.

For media queries, please contact:

Anmol Pandya, Text100:  anmol.pandya@text100.co.in

Gauri Deo, Text100:  gauri.deo@text100.co.in

The partnership provides Hotstar Premium users access to additional 6,000 hours of Hollywood TV shows, movies, and original content

Hotstar, India’s leading premium streaming platform and HOOQ, Southeast Asia’s largest Video-on-Demand (VOD) service have forged a first-of-its-kind partnership, with HOOQ’s 6,000 hour catalogue of Hollywood TV shows and movies made available to Hotstar Premium users, and in turn, enables HOOQ to leverage Hotstar’s massive scale of over 150 million monthly active users.

As a result of this partnership, the catalogue for Hotstar Premium subscribers, already featuring the most acclaimed and award-winning content from studios like HBO, Showtime, Fox and Disney, will further expand to include thousands of Hollywood titles and same-day telecasts of the latest seasons of top-rated Hollywood TV series including award-winning titles such as The Big Bang Theory, Arrow, The Flash, S.W.A.T., The Goldbergs and HOOQ Originals like The Oath.  They will also be able to choose from a wealth of Hollywood blockbusters and classics including Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, Spider-Man and Pulp Fiction and enjoy their viewing experience on any device, at any time.

According to FICCI-EY’s research on India’s entertainment industry, box office collections from Hollywood films, inclusive of all regional language dubbed versions, totaling Rs. 8.01 billion in 2017, making up 13% of the overall movie box office in the country.  This year alone, the Hollywood juggernaut Avengers: Infinity Wars smashed India box office records by raking in US$43.6M despite only showing in 2,000 cinemas locally, making it the biggest Hollywood film of all time in India.  The growing interest of Indian viewers towards Hollywood content marks an opportune moment for HOOQ to expand its content distribution channel and partnering with Hotstar provides it the most compelling platform to create impact in the Indian market.

Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar commented, “Hotstar Premium’s English catalogue is unlike anything you’ll find on any other platform in the world – an aggregation of content from across studios and content producers, at a single destination.  This partnership with HOOQ, with its portfolio of curated blockbuster Hollywood content, seals the argument – for an English content fan, there is nowhere else to go.”

 Commenting on the partnership, Peter Bithos, CEO, HOOQ said, “We are so pleased to announce this collaboration with Hotstar that combines their reach with our offering as the ‘Home for Hollywood’ in India.  With the appetite for Hollywood content in India growing at a furious pace, we are poised to offer the Indian customer easily accessible and a very affordable way to watch the best of Hollywood.  This partnership with Hotstar underscores our commitment to satisfying the Indian market’s appetite for on-demand content.”

 Prabh Singh, Business Head – Hotstar Premium added, “When it comes to English content, Hotstar Premium is uniquely placed in that it boasts titles from global studios like HBO, Disney, Showtime and Fox and now with HOOQ, iconic shows like The Big Bang Theory, The Flash, S.W.A.T and even cult classics like Friends in the fold.  Regardless of mood, genre preference or which side of the superhero debate you sit on, Hotstar Premium is the single destination where English content consumers find everything. The partnership with HOOQ firmly strengthens that position.”

Zulfiqar Khan, Managing Director of India for HOOQ, commented, “This is the start of a great relationship between HOOQ and Hotstar in India, we are excited to bring to life a wealth of content for a new audience.  The OTT market is an exciting space and our belief is that it is imperative for consumers to have easy access to content.  With this Hotstar partnership, HOOQ takes another step forward in becoming the service known as the “Home of Hollywood” on major platforms”.

English titles have witnessed robust growth over the last couple of years.  In 2016, gross box office collection of English films in India grew by 10% compared to 2015, as per the FICCI-KPMG Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2017.

 – END –

ABOUT HOOQ

Built in Asia for Asia, HOOQ is one of Asia’s first premium video-on-demand service to launch across the region.  HOOQ is a start-up joint venture established in January 2015 by Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros.  HOOQ delivers thousands of hours of entertainment to customers anytime, anywhere by enabling them to stream and download on their Internet device or platform of choice.  HOOQ was also named Best Mobile App in the Media, Film, TV or Video category at the GSMA’s Global Mobile (GLOMO) Awards 2016 in Barcelona.  HOOQ currently operates in the Philippines, Thailand, India, Indonesia and Singapore with a population footprint of over 1.7 billion people. For more information, visit www.hooq.tv.

ABOUT HOTSTAR

Hotstar is India’s largest premium streaming platform with more than 100,000 hours of drama and movies in 18 languages, and coverage of every major global sporting event. Launched in early 2015, it is one of India’s most downloaded apps and has attracted more than 350 million followers on the back of a highly evolved video streaming technology and high attention to quality of experience across devices and platforms. Hotstar has appropriated top spots on the Google Play Store as well as the Apple App Store, consistently named among the most popular apps on both platforms since its launch.

For more information on HOOQ, please contact:

Emma Pickering / Sarah Guldin

Ogilvy, Singapore

emma.pickering@ogilvy.com / sarah.guldin@ogilvy.com

For more information on HOTSTAR, please contact:

Anmol Pandya / Gauri Deo

Text 100

Anmol.pandya@text100.co.in / gauri.deo@text100.co.in

With two wildly successful seasons under their belt, India’s best-known comedians are back with the third season of On Air with AIB on Hotstar, India’s leading streaming platform. The new season kicks off today and will feature episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, exclusively on Hotstar.

The AIB team have spent two previous seasons on Hotstar cutting absurdities down to size, but the gap between seasons has provided lots more fodder for a whole new set of episodes featuring issues that don’t get called out enough.

From the issue of open defecation to the woes of unmarried young lovers who are denied accommodation, the discussions run the full gamut and served up with often scathing, always hilarious commentary. With every episode, be prepared to laugh along with the inimitable quartet at their refreshing take on topics that matter.

In the words of a Hotstar spokesperson, “The group have caused ripples during the first two seasons and elicited plenty of laughs, so it made perfect sense to keep going! With a fresh and exciting take on the day-to-day issues facing the country, AIB has a unique way of addressing the hairiest of topics with their unique brand of comedy while appealing to a wide range of audiences.”

On Air with AIB Season 3 will see Tanmay Bhat, Gursimran Khamba, Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya presenting their signature satirical take on the social issues facing the country. With a brand of humour that brings to the forefront the contradictions inherent in modern life, no bridge is too far for them. This season will feature three segments that will see a host of topical issues covered on Mondays, followed by a deep dive into a particular topic on Wednesdays, while Fridays will see an ad hoc, off-the-wall conversation, Off-Script, between the quartet and a special guest on their favourite bugbears, of which there are many. Tempt not their wrath, or you might just end up in their sights!

You can watch the first episode here –

https://www.hotstar.com/tv/on-air-with-aib/s-373/seasons/season-3/ss-6020

About Hotstar

Hotstar is India’s largest premium streaming platform with more than 100,000 hours of drama and movies in 17 languages, and coverage of every major global sporting event. Launched in early 2015, it is one of India’s most downloaded apps and has attracted more than 350 million followers on the back of a highly evolved video streaming technology and high attention to the quality of experience across devices and platforms. Hotstar has appropriated top spots on the Google Play Store as well as the Apple App Store, named among the most popular apps of 2017 on both platforms.

For media queries, please contact:

Anmol Pandya, Text100:  anmol.pandya@text100.co.in

Gauri Deo, Text100:  gauri.deo@text100.co.in